Hi, I'm Brooke!

I'm a Grand Rapids, MI photographer specializing in birth photography and family photojournalism. I like to teach other women how to use their DSLRs to photograph their families, too. I believe in the power of beauty and the beauty of the raw and ordinary.

INSTAGRAM

through this blog entry, you get to see some of my personal life. not the home/family life part (though that's also intertwined), but the part that is an urban missionary and pastor's wife. it is, therefore, more explicitly Christian than most of what i share in this space, but the photos tell a lovely story, whether you want to read the bits about the Kingdom of God or not. :)

i once heard it said that though your choice of a zip code does not have moral consequences, it does have consequences. and this i firmly believe: that in seeking first the Kingdom of God, where we choose to live matters, and that there is a mighty difference between living amongst the ones you are called to love versus dropping in to serve them for a few hours a week. which is why we own property here, and why we don't have a 5 year plan to move out.

it is a slow, steady work. and much of it doesn't feel like work, it's just life. it's raising kids and taking walks and tending to the lawn and greeting neighbors and sitting on the front porch at dusk. there aren't magnificently transformative encounters on a daily basis, but you don't expect a miracle every day. instead, you trust that the cumulative effect of your presence will be life. you keep yourself attached to the one true vine, you hunker down amongst a people and a place that the Father shows you, and -- without looking back -- you just let your life unfold there, openly.

it's the ministry of presence.

and slowly, over years, this place becomes no longer "other," it becomes yours.

in the place where we've hunkered down, there is this taco cart, run by the exclusively spanish-speaking and remarkably talented cocinera (cook) Maria, and her son Oscar. and this taco cart is now our taco cart. it's a mere block and a half from our house, in the driveway of Maria. it's open only on weekend nights, and only during the warm weather season. tacos are $1.75 each, and they are to die for. it's a weekend tradition from may through september. i am weirdly proud of this place, and a little protective.

but i want to show you this favorite spot of mine, nestled in the middle of our run-down neighborhood. and if you want to know how to find it, send me a private message. :)

here is the story in which my family -- along with our foster kids and a couple friends -- make a saturday evening visit to Maria's taco cart...